A Visit To The Monastery

I spent most of yesterday at the Abbey of Gethsemani.  A friend who I have not seen for several years was there on retreat.  She contacted me on Friday so we agreed to meet yesterday.  When I arrived at the monastery I was pleasantly surprised to see several other friends there as well.  I love leaving home in the early morning and driving to the monastery.  It’s about an hour away from my home along mostly rural roads and is a peaceful and beautiful drive.  Compared to the world I live in the monastery is a very quiet place.  The monks live there of course but the only contact most people have with them is when they are chanting their prayers in the large Abbey church.  The retreat house is always filled with men and women of every faith from all over the country who are seeking some solitude and silence.  I am happy to have such a place so close to home where I can go and just be.  It was good to re-connect with my friends and to visit with some of the monks.  I have been going to the monastery for over forty years.  When I was a young man I thought I should be a monk and I lived there until I decided it wasn’t the life I should live forever.  It was a good experience, however, and one that has greatly influenced who I am today.  Now I am back in my world and the silence I find will be mostly within myself.